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Advanced biofuels

Bioeconomy

Biofuels that are produced from the feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX, Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast).

EU, 2018, Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast)

Source category: EU Legislation

In the EU, the definition of advanced biofuels is a political decision based on specific feedstock categories, while in the rest of the world, this classification is based on the technology deployed. The RED II reinforced the sustainability criteria, including a definition of advanced biofuels to mitigate the negative impacts of biofuels on land use, biodiversity, including deforestation in third Countries. Advanced biofuels are those fuels produced using only specific feedstock listed in the Annex IX of the RED II. For example, used cooking oils, waste lipids, residual biomasses, wastes and their derived bio-intermediates (e.g. bio-crudes produced from lignocellulosic material) can be used as feedstock to produce advanced biofuels for the EU market. The list also includes many types of wood- and agro- residues, animal manure, sewage sludge, and algae, as well as other biowaste-derived materials, plus more general lignocellulosic materials. The European Commission may adopt specific delegated acts to expand this list based on scientific advice, while it cannot remove items. In 2024 an update of the RED II Annex IX by a specific delegated regulation entered into force.

MOTOLA, V., REJTHAROVA, J., SCARLAT, N., HURTIG, O., BUFFI, M., GEORGAKAKI, A., LETOUT, S., MOUNTRAKI, A., SALVUCCI, R., RÓZSAI, M. and SCHADE, B., Clean Energy Technology Observatory: Advanced Biofuels in the European Union - 2024 Status Report on Technology Development, Trends, Value Chains and Markets, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2024, doi:10.2760/6538066, JRC139335.

Source category: EC Technical Documents